Horrible History: Four Historical Epics by Chang Cheh

History is always more interesting with kung fu.  Imagine the college prep scores if only our founding fathers defeated the British with double-bladed scimitars and fighting staffs.  Now that would get the students’ attention!  And so will Horrible History, the new two-disc set from Eureka that collects four historical epics by legendary Shaw Brothers director Chang Cheh.

By the mid-‘70s something like 80% of the studio’s output was martial arts flicks. With that sort of demand, the genre understandably began to seep into other types of films as well.  Marco Polo (1975) reimagines the famous merchant’s adventures in China to include fighting alongside the local provinces against the brutal Kublai Khan.  Polo himself (played by peplum star Richard Harrison) takes a backseat in his own story to four blood brothers sworn to avenge their fallen comrade.  An absolute blast from beginning to end, Chang’s stages the fight scenes with a refreshingly unstudied approach, imbuing his warriors with superpowers straight out of a Marvel movie. It’s about 20 minutes too long, but you won’t hear many fans complaining.

The Pirate (1973) stages most of its hand-to-hand combat on the high seas – or at least the nearby beach – in an attempt to fuse the swashbuckling period adventure films with the real-life story of Cheung Po Tsai who ruled the oceans during the Qing dynasty.  Stranded on shore while making repairs, Po Tsai plays robin hood for the local fisherman taxed into poverty by a greedy governor. The action is saved up for a half-submerged finale that takes full advantage of the tropical scenery.

Boxer Rebellion (1976) increases the cinematic scope with large scale battles between the revolutionary boxers who used any means necessary to expel the foreign powers cruelly dividing up China. Fighting enemies without and within, four companions (one a master of the iron skin technique) try to combat “fake news” and inspire their fellows to a final victory. More elegant in style and execution, if a bit less exciting, Boxer Rebellion does a lot with a little.

And finally Four Riders (1972) jumps ahead to the final days of the Korean War where another four buddies run afoul of a drug smuggling operation that frames one of their members to take the fall. With an appealing post-war noirishness and impressive set-in-Soul action scenes, this is a superb mix of gangster melodrama and hardcore kung fu. The gymnasium free-for-all finale seals the deal for what, next to Marco Polo, is the second -best film in the set.

With terrific looking masters provided by Celestial Pictures, this 2000-copy limited edition comes out of nowhere as one of the best Shaw Brothers releases of the previous year.  And there’s been a lot of them!  Extras include four matching audio commentaries, an interview with Hong Kong cinema scholar Wayne Wong on Boxer Rebellion and video essay A Brief History of China. Also included but not available for review is a collector’s booklet and slipcase.

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